Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament
Chapter 6: Friends Close, Enemies Closer
Bovington Training Grounds - Bovington, England
The announcement speakers buzzed amongst the destruction. Debris of tracks and various tank parts were strewn about on the plain. The air had a fresh smell of gasoline and diesel in the air. The aftermath of the battle was violent to the landscape, but it wouldn't get any more worse than this now.
Armored recovery vehicles of the 3rd RTR cadets were already dragging the downed vehicles to the repair shops. A whole lot of work as ahead of the mechanics, with a grand total of 20 vehicles lost. Some enthusiastically look forward to overtime pay, others for the experience working on foreign tank designs, but many were groaning about their cup of tea on the extra work they've been assigned.
Nevertheless, the match was decided on the middle hill of the training grounds between the Panzer IV, Comet, and the Achilles.
"The match is over!" The referee declared through the sound system. "THIRD ROYAL TANK REGIMENT IS VICTORIOUS!"
A cry could be heard from the cadets and the spectators as they screamed and cheered. A wholehearted joy spread amongst them.
Miho only looked at that distance where the sound had come from. A far way from the training grounds, possibly in the nearest town or maybe at the museum itself.
In the end, her Panzer IV was defeated. The traded shots between the two tanks hit true, but the Panzer IV's gun shot too high, hitting the top of the turret and grazing off. The Comet shot true into the flat turret front of the Panzer IV. The vibration deafened her and left her disoriented, not realizing what had happened until she saw the flag pop out near her turret ventilation.
She sighed and looked at her hands. They were grimed with oil and dust.
"Miho, are you alright?" Hana asked from the turret.
"Yeah, I'm fine Hana," Miho responded.
"Sorry about the last shot, I thought it would do it for us."
"It's alright Hana. Even if we took out the Comet, the Achilles would've done us in before we've loaded the next round." Miho assessed. In the end, she was in a disadvantageous situation and she made the most of it.
Miho climbed out of the busted Panzer IV as the rest of the crew prepared to disembark. Touching the ground, she looked at the carnage. The Panzer IV skidded back a good three feet after being hit from the Comet. A large black mark remained at the impact location of the shell.
"Hey," Montgomery said to Miho from her right, having climbed out of his Comet I.
"Hi Montgomery," Miho said to the cadet commander.
He took off his stained gloves and extended his hand. "You did good, 'Legend'. I see how the name started now."
"Oh please don't," Miho said bashfully. "You beat me fair and square."
"You sure?" Montgomery said. "I brought along a full line-up of higher caliber tanks against your ragtag bunch and you manage to eliminate nine of eleven of them. Had I not shown up to help Emma, you surely would have a chance to win it all."
"But I didn't…"
"Regardless Miho Nishizumi, for first timers going against trained personnels, you must realize your feats are already unpar to other groups."
Miho was still uncomfortable with the assurance. "Don't worry Miporin! You did great!" Saori said while patting her on the back, hard.
"I don't think we've ever reacted that quickly in a match before…" Mako said.
"In the end, it was all exciting and fun!" Hana said.
"Don't worry Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari shouted. "We'll be much better next time!"
Miho smiled at her crew. "You have a natural skill as a commander Miho," Montgomery said. "And also the trust of your comrades. Use them properly and I'm sure you'll be more successful next time."
"Thanks Montgomery"
"Heh, not that I will go easy on you next time," Montgomery said. "I won't be pulling any punches then."
"Taunting them again Commander?" Emma said, having disembarked her Achilles.
"Pssh, again?" Montgomery dismissed. "I'm a person who recognize skill when I see it and incompetency."
"Uuhh, heh heh," Miho nervously laughed.
"Regardless, all of your tanks are a shamble," Montgomery states. "Would you like to submit them to our mechanics?"
"Really? I wouldn't like to trouble you like that."
"Oh please, they love to get their hands on different equipments. Gives them a change of pace."
A few Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicles was making its way towards them. The joy of the playing field being right near the base camp is the enhanced logistics.
"I would take up your offer then Montgomery."
"Marvelous. Would you and the others also like to join us for the dinner banquet? We always have room for more."
"Ooh, I'd love that!" Hana reacted.
Miho smiled at the kind offer. "I think we would love that!
Chow Hall at Bovington Camp - Bovington, England
It wasn't a pristine restaurant, or a place one would take guests to for an honorary meal. But the cadets have their ways and the mess hall was cleaned up beautifully for presentation.
"Look at all that weird dishes!" Karina yelled out pointing at the serving counters.
"Perhaps this is a good time to experience British fine dining?" Montgomery said.
"Oh yes!" Hana delightfully said, eager to eat.
"That looks delicious!" Yukari enthusiastically agreed.
Montgomery gave out a hearty laugh. "Eat it while it last, we never have leftovers."
Miho looked at the large assortment of dishes the chefs have cooked up. It reminded her a lot of the aftermath of the match against Anzio with their feast. Everyone was jubilant in that room. Some of the cadets already eating looked like they just came straight from the tanks, their face darkened from the grime of a tank.
"Well! It ain't going anywhere with us standing here!" Anzu said. "Let's go girls!"
"Yay!" The girls cheered as they dispersed among the crowd. Miho going along with a plate.
"So you're the gunner in the Panzer IV?" Ben asked the woman who is gracefully scarfing down a large plate of food.
"Hmm?" Hana looked at the young man who asked. "Yes, that was me."
"Wow really? Nice shooting," Ben said.
"Which tank were you in?"
"The Cromwell on the middle hill."
"Oh! The one doing loops around us."
"Yeah…"
"My name's Ben" He said while extending a hand.
"Isuzu," Hana said, taking his hand and shaking.
"How long have you been doing Tankery?"
"About a year now."
"Only a year? You're a natural, just like your commander."
"Is that so?"
"What is this? Fraternizing with the enemy?" A voice came behind Ben with a man who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"No Corporal," Ben said, standing up and facing the man.
"I kid, I kid," Harvey reassured. "Who's this?"
"She's Ms. Isuzu. Isuzu, this is my tank commander, Harvey."
"Nice to meet you," Hana said.
"Same to you," Harvey said taking a seat. "So which tank were you in?"
"The Panzer IV."
"Oh? You're the one that shot us?"
"Yes, I was the gunner."
"Nice shooting. Not a lot of people could track us when we start circling them," Harvey said. "Cromwells are one of the fastest British tanks in World War II."
"Thank you," Hana said. "Though I think you're marksmanship on the move could use some work."
"Yeeaah, we need to work on that," Harvey said while slowly eyeing Ben.
"What?"
"So I was like! BAM! Then I got it!" Aya said.
"I'm not sure it was exactly like that…" Azusa said.
"No, no, don't worry. It's still entertaining," Emma said as she listened in to Aya's retelling."
"Anyways, that's how we got the Achilles be the heels!"
"By the heels!" Karina shouted along.
Rabbit team were jovial despite the loss, but with the atmosphere, feeling down wasn't an option. Emma had come over as part of a after-action review with them, but they were more interested in their own little worlds.
"Have you seen 'Troy' Emma?" Yuuki asked her.
"Er, yes. Aren't you all a bit young to be seeing a movie like that?" Emma asked, wondering about the rating system in Japan.
"I just have my parents mail it to me," Karina said. "They don't mind!"
"I don't know if that's being open or irresponsible…"
"Well! It's not like you can make us unwatch it!" Karina said in a rebellious child-like tone.
"What other movies do you know about Emma?" Azusa asked.
"Me? Well… I like the movie 'Bridge Too Far',"
"The one by Richard?" Ayumi perked up.
"Yeah, that one."
"That was a good one!" Aya affirms.
"What about 'The Longest Day'?" Yuuki asked.
"Never finished it," Emma said.
"Oh, it's wonderful. You've gotta finish it," Azusa said.
Emma smirked, "Alright, I'll get to it when I can."
The girls chat about the few movies they've seen, but then transitioned quickly back to the match.
"But yeah, Karina, you were hella scared when those machine gun bullets started to fly huh?"
"Oooh!" Karina gritted, "that was completely BS! That won't happen again! Whoever shot that machine gun at us must've been a jerk!"
"Ah ha ha, yeah… we have a few of those in the force," Emma said innocently.
"Well I don't think someone nice like Emma would do something like that right?" Azusa said that caught Emma's attention. Though she noted that Azusa winked at her after finishing that sentence.
"Uh, right! No I wouldn't," Emma said nervously.
"Welp!" Aya said, "I don't think we'll have something like that again in the future matches!"
"Oh yeah?" Emma said, "Wait 'till you see the Americans."
"Uhhh, Hi!" Saori said.
"Hey," Mac said nonchalantly while eating his meal.
"I-I'm Takebe! Takebe Saori!"
"Right."
"..."
"U-um, c-could I-"
"Are you alright miss?" Mac said looking at her. Her face was flushed and almost the shade of a ripe tomato.
"M-maybe not…" Saori said. Dang this guy is hot!
"You want me to call a medic?"
"NO! No, no, I'm fine."
"..."
"So…, you want to si-"
"Sorryfordisturbingokaybye!" Saori quickly said before sipping out of that situation.
Frank just looked at the scene stunned. "Huh, that was… interesting."
"Yeah, never seen a girl run away from you screaming." Edwards said across him. "Hope that didn't harm your good looks."
"No, she's the peculiar one if anything."
"So that's what it was? You knew I was there from scouting?" Naomi said towards the three gamers on their portables.
"Yep," Nekonya said. "We climbed high and just observed for you, then radioing Miho to let her know where you are."
"Damn! Why didn't I think that I was seen!" Naomi cursed to herself.
"Not to mention when you exposed yourself, the Comet made it impossible to back away properly right?" Momoga asked.
"Yeah, yeah," Naomi confirmed. "I guess that's why I'm still Lance Corporal. I've only been in the cadets for less than a year."
"Mistakes can be made," Piyotan said. "Just learn from them. It's kinda like a video game. When you die, just respawn and use something different to attack."
"Unless you play Dark Souls," Momoga said, "then just cry."
Naomi just sighed. "You guys must be quite gifted. To have her as your commander, you all can go far with her."
"Well, we didn't exactly get a good start when we first started as well," Piyotan said. "When we first started, we were the first ones knocked out in a match, didn't even fire off a shot."
"Really?"
"Yep, so at least you got to near the end of the match. You'll be fine, not like those Cromwells."
"Huh, thanks."
Nekonya went back to her game, "Augh! My SPG got destroyed!"
"So how different would you have done it when you go all out Montgomery?" Miho asked.
"Well, first I would bring out the maximum allowed tanks for the fight," Montgomery explained, sitting to Miho's right. "I'd also equip my men with their standard gear."
"Standard gear?" Yukari asked, sitting to Miho's left.
"They'd have their offensive gear on, namely their personal defense weapons and sidearms like the STEN submachine gun."
"You'd shoot us?"
"More like against any scouts you may have. Anyways, everything else is confidential until the day we actually match up again."
"It's like you underestimated Miho's ability in a Tankery match, isn't it Montgomery?" Darjeeling said, sitting across the trio.
"I must admit, you impressed me Miho Nishizumi. I'll make sure you won't surprise me again."
"Oh I hope she will again!" Yukari said.
"She can try, but my men will be ready for it."
"Eh, heh heh," Miho chuckled. "But I wonder how we'll find a way to defend ourselves from being shot outside the tank."
"Most tank casualty in history are due to tankers leaving the safety of their tank armor," Darjeeling informed.
"Don't worry about it," Montgomery said, "the only way to stop someone from shooting you is to shoot back."
"But we don't have those kinds of firearms," Yukari said. "At least, not that I know of."
"Not to worry, there are stores around here that sells that for military or Tankery-affiliated personnel," Montgomery said. "We can head to one of those tomorrow if you want."
"You'd help us with that?" Miho said,feeling very grateful to this man who takes his time to help these students he's just met.
"Of course! But you'll have to use your own funds. We don't have much room in our budget."
"Funds… Okay! I'll just have to ask the president about that," Miho said.
"Also, Miho," Montgomery interjected, "it doesn't matter how skilled your little band are." He says while looking over Miho's team chatting along with his cadets. "You're going to be outnumbered in the tournament with the other countries there. How do you plan on supplementing your forces?"
"I'm not sure…" Miho now pondered on that problem. "But I'll ask the president, see if there are any luck finding new Sensha-dou members."
"I wish you best of luck then," Montgomery said before Miho got up from her seat, leaving Yukari and Montgomery there.
"Sooo…" Yukari said to the now distant Montgomery, "What kind of firearms does this shop sell?"
Miho was walking along when she noticed she was being followed.
"Darjeeling?" She looked back and saw the blonde lady there, without her signature tea cup.
"Hmm?" Darjeeling said there, anticipating this conversation.
"Back then, in the match, why did you say that?"
"About doing what is necessary to win? Perhaps I just want to tap into your inner champion."
"Inner champion?"
"The one that helped Ōarai win both the nationals and against University," Darjeeling said, "The same champion that overcame all odds to achieve victory."
"You mean my 'Legend'?"
"There is a very big difference from your fights against us in the two matches we've had together back in Japan, and your fights when you fight for survival of your school." Darjeeling notes. "It's almost like a new person, a new persona, from you."
"You think so?" Miho asked.
"'Like a wounded animal', do you know the phrase?"
"Can't say I do…"
"A desperate animal, trapped from escape, will be more vicious to its foe than ever before," Darjeeling explained. "When you fight against Pravda, Kuromorimine, and University, did you know you fought with more vigor than your previous matches?"
"Can't say I've been looking that deeply into it…" Miho said, wondering where she was going with this.
"When we're in this tournament against the world, there is nothing against you now. You're free from responsibility of saving your school. I'm worried you might be getting soft," Darjeeling said. "If we're going to win this tournament Miho, I need you to fight as if your life depends on it." Darjeeling said this looking right at Miho's eye, looking for any shred of determination Miho might still have.
"O-okay Darjeeling, I'll try my very best!"
"Hmm," Darjeeling said before assuming her standard, calm pose. "Well I suppose I'm just getting too excited for the world tournament, I don't want to watch you lose too quickly in the first round."
"I won't! Promise!"
"Fabulous!" Darjeeling clapped. "Regardless, the match against Montgomery definitely showed me I must improve our equipment. More firepower or speed. Our Churchill was the only adequate piece of equipment out there, Rosehip's Crusader is too thinly armored for its speed and Rukuriri's Matilda is simply too slow and undergunned."
"What will you do about it?"
"See what I can scrounge up from our storage or with our funds," Darjeeling said. "We've been trying to upgrade for a while now after our experience against University, but this match just now show a clear need for this reorganization."
"Alright then," Miho said, "I'll look forward to it!"
"Anyways, I must get going now Miho, I'll see you another time," Darjeeling said before parting ways.
"Bye!"
"Sorry Miho," Anzu said, chewing on a piece of dried sweet potatoes, "But there's no new club members for our team this year."
"Eh?!" Miho was surprised, after all that's happened the last year, surely there would be some new people interested in the Sensha-Dou club! "Why not?"
"Well, we do have more funds to work with, we actually don't have enough to buy a new tank…" Anzu said, "A good percentage is already going into maintaining the ones we have."
"Do we have any we can use though?" Miho asked. "We'll need to purchase some new gears for the World Tournament!"
"Yeah, we've got some surplus, I'll hand you the fund data later back on the ship," Anzu said.
Regardless, the lack of new club members, not to mention any new tanks, mean that Ōarai is in quite a pickle once more. They only had eight tanks, and the rule book for Tankery has a lowest maximum at thirty. Ōarai will be outnumbered tremendously if they don't figure it out.
"Don't worry about it Miho," Anzu said.
"Huh?"
"We'll figure something out. It seems the International League are just as lenient in the team-making process as the Japanese nationals were, so we'll be able to add new members even if it is half-way through the overall tournament."
"I guess so…" Miho was still uneasy, but they didn't have any immediate solutions so it was no use trying to do something about it now.
"It's alright Miho! Just enjoy yourself here! The food's great, very different from the cafeteria's."
"Uh, okay!" Miho said before going back to her dining area next to Yukari and Montgomery.
"Seriously Anzu," Momo said, "What do we do about this?"
"I dunno. But we've still got a few days before the first I.L. meeting happens so we've got until then to sort things out."
"This is quite a reckless way to do this…" Yuzu chimes in.
"Has any of our methods not been?"
Train Yard - Bovington, England
"Thank you very much for the food!" All the girls said to the cadets as they are about to leave.
"Don't mention it!"
"Visit us again!"
"Cheers mate!"
Various responds came back from the small crowd of cadets seeing them off. Ōarai's tank were all already fixed up before the meal and were loaded onto the flat cars on the train. Emma and Montgomery were with them to see them off safely. The trains departed at 9:00 PM and made its way through the country back to Portsmouth for their trip back to the carrier. Tomorrow was still another big day for them as they browse for the materials needed for the Tankery matches.
"It's as pretty as ever in the night," Hana noted as she looked out the window.
"Yeah…" Miho said, admiring the scene.
"Are you trying to change the topic again Hana?" Yukari voice piped up. "You ate almost a quarter of the entire meal served and you don't look any different."
"Oh my, did I?" Hana said in a realization.
"Huh?" Miho also noted. She didn't see the amount Hana ate, but the stack of plates beside her in the end didn't escape her eyes, nor did it escape the cadets who were eyeing her appetite.
"How embarrassing," Hana bashfully said.
"Well, then again… you always had big portions in meals back at school."
"No, you see, I was on a diet and now I've gone and ruined it…"
"Speaking of ruins…" Yukari said eyeing at an orange slump of depression next to Hana, which Mako is sitting on nonchalantly. "What happened to you Saori?"
Saori was completely out of it, mumbling incoherent sentences as she laments on something she did.
"Earth to Saori?" Yukari asked again.
"Saori tried talking to a hot guy and it blew up in her," Mako said with the most deadpan face possible.
Hearing the recount of her actions, Saori exploded, "AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!" Before collapsing again in a sobbing mess.
Suppose curses are real?
Next Day - Portsmouth Port, England
Another early day, the girls disembarked the ferries again on the port at a time before noon. No tanks this time, no tank uniforms, just casual clothes of tourists.
It was just Anglerfish team this time that came to shore. They've shown the appropriate papers to the customs and are now waiting at the pick-up area for their ride.
"Handling more than 30 people in a foreign urban area in a shopping trip with not enough chaperones, it's just unsafe," Miho recounted what Anzu said. "You do the shopping, see what we need and that stuff. Here's the funds, feel free to use up the surplus if you want."
Miho sighed as she looked at a prepaid card in her hand. In hindsight, this was for the best, with just the five doing the work so no one will get lost.
"We're meeting Montgomery around here right?" Saori said.
"He's to pick us up here as usual…" Miho said.
A mini-van soon stopped in front of them, with a sliding door opening, "Ey, get in losers."
"Hi Emma," Miho said. Emma was in casual clothes of jeans and a orange t-shirt with a light grey sweater on top.
"Ready for a day of shopping? Because I know I am!" Emma said back.
"So am I!" Yukari says eagerly.
"Alrighty, anytime you want, just get into the passenger seats," Montgomery said from the driver seat.
"Are you off the military today?" Hana asked as the girls got in.
"On short leave, got permission from the instructor for today," Montgomery said. "Buckle up!"
Once the side door closed again with everyone at their seat, the van lurched forward at high speed, the inertia throwing the girls onto the back rest.
"Oh yeah, Montgomery's a terrible driver, but he'll get you there safe."
The girls weren't so sure on that 10 minutes into the drive.
Somewhere in Portsmouth, England
The van finally stopped in a parking space.
"Alright! We're here!" Montgomery said enthusiastically as he looked back.
"Can Emma drive on the way back?" Saori asked pleadingly as she caught her breath.
"My blood pressure has never been higher…" Mako said, out of breath.
"Eh, nope, I don't have a driver license yet," Emma said. "Sorry!"
"Well, let's get this over with," Yukari said as she quickly grab the door handle and opening it, hopping out quickly and her face pleased to have her foot back on stable ground.
The girls were all now deep in Portsmouth, still near the coast as the waves could be heard in a distance, but they surely weren't near the port they came in from.
"Alright, here it is," Montgomery said, looking at a rather large store.
"'Panzer Glory'?" Yukari read the sign of the place.
"It's a famous international company for supplies for the Tankery community," Emma said. "You've never heard of it?"
"Nope, never heard of it before," Yukari said. If she didn't see it, no one did.
"Oh well, we're not gonna see it from here, let's go inside." Montgomery states as he enters through the glass doors.
The girls followed. The store had only one floor for its merchandise, but it has a huge amount of merchandise for sale. Tank parts, repair services, ammunition, decoration, spray paints, all the important components to make a tank run were available inside.
"It's a lot like that store on the carrier!" Saori said.
"But bigger!" Yukari corrects. "Look at all that! Those are premium-quality parts there! These go for thousands back home!"
Miho was surely impressed at the assortment of materials available to them. Especially the engine parts, there are some good ones that can increase the efficiency of Ōarai's tanks. All of it is League-approved too so they would be interesting buys.
"Come over here, these are probably your most important things you need," Montgomery said, waving them over to a counter where a staff was standing at. "Hey Jerry. Jerry, Jerry, Jerry. How've you been?"
"Nice to see you again Montgomery," the man, Jerry, said with a chipper English accent. "Brought along more young recruits?"
"Actually, their my guests. They're from overseas, not used to the League's Tankery, y'see."
"Ah, beginners then?" Jerry said eyeing Miho and the others.
"Yeah, get the usual."
"Alright, just wait a moment," Jerry said as he went through a back door.
A television set was on at a roof corner of the store. It was on a news channel and Miho took interest on it when she saw what the subject was.
"And now we move on to our out-of-country field reporter, George Jackson."
The scene transitioned to a middle-aged man at what seems to be a military practice range.
"Good afternoon everyone. I'm currently in front of a practice range of Germany's most prestigious tanking school, the 'Carius Academy'. The current champions from the last World Tournament. As you can see from their Panthers over there doing their maneuvers, they're still pumped up about the upcoming World Tournament exhibition matches and don't plan to go easy to their competitors!"
"Panthers huh?" Miho saw the tanks that belonged to this German team. If a team is even willing to show some form of their line-up to the world, they must be really confident.
"I have right here with me, the commander of these cadets, who's taken his valuable time to talk with us today. Mr. Kraus, thank you for joining us."
"It's a pleasure," The young, blonde man in a dark olive green uniform said with a German accent. Miho noted that his uniform somewhat resembled a German tanker from in World War II, complete with a M43 office cap on. He was of average height, a must to fit in tanks properly, and had most of his tanking equipment on with the exception of his headset which was wrapped around his neck. A pistol holster was present on his utility belt, with various of other World War II-era tools.
"Mr. Kraus, as the current champions of the International League's World Tournament, how do you feel about the coming exhibition matches?"
"Ja, I think it is an excellent opportunity for us to see what our opponent's plans are in their matches. We see how they fight, we adapt, and then we crush them in the real deal two years from now."
"You seem awfully chipper, do you think any of them have a chance against the other contenders?"
"Absolutely. We utterly annihilated our competitors two years ago, and we've only increased our standards for our applicants. I am confident in my troops' ability to destroy our opponents."
"Cheeky bastard," Montgomery said, also watching the screen.
"You've met him before?" Miho asked.
"Axel Kraus," Montgomery said, "Commander of Carius Academy's Tankery team. He led his team to victory two years ago in the World Tournament."
"Were you there Montgomery?"
"Ah yes," Montgomery said fiddling with a pen. "I was just a regular cadet sergeant back then… Our team didn't get past the second rounds against Carius."
"Oh…" Miho thought before Jerry came back from the back.
"Here 'ya go," he said before setting down weapons of war.
"Guns?" Saori said looking at them.
"Don't worry," Montgomery reassured. "They won't bite." He said this as he picked one of them up. "Walther P-38 pistols, adapted to League standards. You can't fire real bullets out of this even if you have it. The pressure will mess up the internals," Montgomery said as he inspected one of them. "Good ergonomics with a light recoil, perfect for beginners like you lot."
"Here, come hold them if you want, get a feel," Jerry said. Miho looked at the pistols and reached in for one. It was heavy for its size as Miho feeled it in her palm, grasping the grip with one hand. Analyzing it, she moved her hand with the pistol a bit, being aware of where she was pointing the pistol. She inspected the internals by pulling the slide back a bit. Closing it, she instinctively pointed the gun at a direction and looked down the sights.
"Hey, you a natural on firearms too?" Montgomery asked.
"Huh?"
"The way you hold that P-38, this isn't your first time with a firearm?"
Miho looked at how she was handling her P-38, then looked at her friends. Aside from Yukari, who seemed comfortable with it, the others were somewhat confused on how to operate the machine. "No… It's our first time with firearms."
"Interesting, next thing you know you're pulling bulls eyes with that."
"Will this even be allowed on the school carrier?" Hana asked.
"The League's been able to pull ropes on schools on jurisdictions with restrictive firearm laws. I'm sure with proper approval you can store them on your ship," Montgomery explained.
"Oh okay."
Miho continued looking at the pistol. Am I going to use this to shoot someone? Miho thought.
"Do you want to try it out in our test range?" Jerry asked the girls.
"That's a great idea, get them use to it as well," Montgomery chipped in.
"Um, okay!" Miho replied, "Thank you very much!"
It was just beyond the back room Jerry came from, after going through a double soundproof doors, the 50 meter concrete range was there.
"Eyes and ears," Jerry said, handing out safety glasses and earmuffs. The girls put them on.
"Now here," Montgomery said carrying a small box, "are league-approved ammunition." Montgomery proceeds to open the box and showing a bunch of brass cased cartridges, something similar to the tanks shells they've been using for all things considered.
"If you can feel the tip here," Montgomery said passing out a pullet, "it's rubber and flat-nosed. It won't cause major harm if it hits you." Miho took one and felt the bullet tip, though slightly hard, it was definitely designed to not penetrate skin.
"Alright, let's go over how you should load the rounds," Jerry said. They went over the operation of the P-38 pistols and safety procedures. Don't point it at anyone you're not willing to fire on, know what is behind the target, always assume it is loaded, and keep fingers off trigger before firing.
After the short briefing, the girls were given their own ranges and told to load their pistols. Individual instructors were assigned to each of the girls to make sure nothing wrong happens. Once properly loaded, the girls were told to fire the pistol at a target already set up down the range.
Miho aimed the target with one arm, feeling it as natural, and aligned the sights with her eyes. She fired the eight rounds, each shot recoiled her aim off target. Each time, she realigned the target to the center and fired again. Once empty, she was told to wait until the others were finished.
The instructors called in each targets, and up close Miho saw her shot placements on the paper targets. All of her shots landed in the center mass of the target.
"Nice shooting Miho, just like a natural," Montgomery said.
"R-really?" Miho admired her handiwork. She didn't think all her shots would hit her target, but there it was. "Thanks."
"Wow Nishizumi-dono! You that's quite a grouping!" Yukari said as she came over with her target paper. "Look at mine! I only hit it five times, and it's quite scattered!"
"That's still some nice shooting Yukari!" Miho admired her friend's work.
"Man! Shooting is scary!" Saori said as she came up to Miho. She was shaking her right hand, seemingly affected more by the recoil than Miho or Yukari was.
"I thought it was a pleasant feeling, almost like shooting the Panzer's gun." Hana said.
"Y'all weird," Mako said coming up.
"How did you do on your targets?" Miho asked
Hana had just held up her paper, seven of her shots hit on the target, "I believed I did alright."
"Nice job Hana!" Miho said, then looking towards Saori and Mako.
"Oh don't look at ours!" Saori said, revealing her paper. "I sucked! Mako was too!"
Their paper only had one or two hits on it.
"Maybe with practice you'll get better," Hana suggested.
"Oh really? When do you think I'll even use this gun?" Saori said pointing to her pistol resting on the shooter's bench. "I have a machine gun in front me the whole time in the tank! I'm not gonna poke my head out to shoot something! I'll just use that!"
"That's true…" Miho said.
"I'm gonna be driving the tank," Mako said, "It's an interesting new thing, but I don't think I'll have the time either."
"Well, it's not like you have to buy one for everyone," Montgomery said. "We're kind of supplied with it so we don't need to purchase each one, but we do issue our submachine guns on a limited basis…"
"Maybe three per tank?" Yukari suggested.
"Maybe, let's see what else there is to buy before we settle this," Miho said.
Back in the main store room, Jerry had set aside a number of P-38 for possible purchase. The girls were browsing the store for various items they may need. One thing that caught their eyes were specialized shells.
"Smoke rounds?" Saori looked curiously at one of the shells laid out for sell.
"It's a shell that creates smoke," Mako said.
"I can see that! Do we need it? We already have smoke dispensers on our tanks!"
"Well, it helps if we want to emit smoke from a distance," Yukari said. "But the Sherman tankers from World War II seem to be able to use the smoke rounds against infantry in buildings and even against tanks!"
"How do these things help against tanks?" Saori asked.
"Against the German tanks, the smoke would get into the crew compartment and make the crew's life horrid," Yukari explained. "Or they can trick the crew into thinking their engine is on fire. Even in the best case, the smoke round blinds the enemy from seeing what's going on."
"Sounds like an important thing to have in case," Miho said. "We should get a few."
"Hmm, it seems they only have smoke shells for 75 mm guns on the Shermans and Panzer IV…" Hana noted.
"It would work! It should on the M3, StuG, and Hetzer!" Yukari said excitedly
"Great! Let's get a few! If we can fit it into our budget that is…" Miho noted.
After adding that to their shopping list, they looked around for more interesting stuff.
"Lots of firearms here huh?" Hana noted.
"It's almost like they want the tankers to come off and fight person by person…" Saori suggested.
"Actually, its because of the scouting system," Emma said as he came up to them, surprising them.
"Ah! Where did you come from?" Saori asked.
"Was at the equipment center for crew comfort," Emma responded.
"What do you mean by scouting?" Yukari asked.
"Well, the reason why scouting system is suppose to oblige by the Geneva Convention is because we've had some… interesting cases of scouts."
"Huh?"
"Well, how do you usually do scouts?" Emma asked.
"It's a trade secret!" Yukari said, defending her tactics from exposal. "But it does involve sneaking into the enemy base."
"Well, we've been through some extreme cases of scouts in the past."
"How so?" Miho asked.
"There was a time years ago during a World Tournament when the Americans scouted…" Emma recounted, "via paratroopers."
"What?!"
"Yeah, accounts of the time said they just heard a plane fly overhead loudly. Next thing we knew, there was an alarm over the base. The Americans, they were rather aggressive with their League-approved firearms. They were forcing their ways toward our tank storage room and were busting through. They took down anyone who were in their way."
"This is legal?" Saori asked, trying to remember what was written in the rule book.
"Yep," Mako said. She must've already memorized the book.
"Yes, all legal," Emma confirmed. "So they managed to break in, got their intel, then escaped into the night. We're not sure how they got back home, but they did."
"Wow, a classical raiding assault," Yukari said.
"Then the cadets back then retaliated with another scouting party with the advice of some S.A.S. operatives. Didn't work out as well as the Americans did due to the geographics, but these events helped change the rules."
"They tried to restrict it?" Miho asked.
"Oh no, the League saw this as an increased competitiveness in their tournaments. They actually encouraged this," Emma said. "So to fight back, the people guarding their tanks are armed with League-approved firearms so they can fight back against invaders. It's like an arm race between defenders and attackers now. An unofficial conflict in the tournaments. This is one of the reasons why military-oriented schools excel, they have the training and equipment to protect themselves. Although some large private schools are able to do the same."
The girls just took this new information with awe. This was a completely new thing to the whole perspective of Tankery.
"They're really just trying simulate a war huh?" Miho said.
"Sounds about right."
"Very interesting…" Miho pondered then looked at Yukari. Yukari had always sneaked in via uniforms, but if the opposing enemy's base is that vigilant against not just scouts, but raiding parties, they will have to think of something if they plan to gather intel on their opponents.
"Who's guarding the stuff? Can it be any contracted security guard?" Yukari asked.
"Oh no, the property with the tanks can only be guarded by the people affiliated with Tankery. So say if someone was to raid our base, us cadets are responsible to protect our tanks, but the security guards at the museum are not unless the attacking team break jurisdiction and attempt to hide in the museum. Basically, as long as its public space or the area where the defending team's tanks are held, no one else can interfere but the defending Tankery team."
"Thanks for that information Emma!" Yukari said.
"Oh, no problem," Emma responded.
As Emma left to go back to her business, Miho and the other girls were left wondering what to do about potential invaders, or how they would go about doing things now.
"Okay so," Miho was looking at the list they've drawn up. "Pistols for twenty, submachine guns for eight, magazines, one thousand League-approved 9 mm pistol ammunition, five thousand League-approved German 8 mm rifle ammunition, 30 smoke shells for American 75 mm and 100 smoke shells for German 75 mm."
"Not a bad loadout for Tankery beginners," Jerry said from behind the counter as he looked at the list. "We'll ship it over to the carrier once we get you that permit for League firearm possession. Might take a few days."
"We might need to order more in the future Miho," Yukari pointed out.
"Don't worry, we do international shipping," Jerry said. "Just call the number on this business card, or order online for our service."
"Oh! Thanks a lot mister!" Miho said gratefully.
"No problem, glad to help, helps you and helps me."
"Are we missing anything Montgomery?" Miho asked Montgomery, looking over their transaction.
"Maybe some crew equipments to deal with environments?" Montgomery suggested. "The World Tournament can take place anywhere in the world, be it mountainous terrain or the driest."
"I think we have stock of that on our ship…" Miho thought. Afer all, they had to buy all those winter equipment for that match against Pravda last year.
"Okay then, what about rifles?"
"Rifles?" Miho asked.
"Well, I see you've got the MP40 SMG in your list, but if you're taking 8 mm Mausers, take a few of those Mauser bolt rifles."
"Won't those long things be hard to use in a tank?" Saori asked.
"Not for your tanks, for your defense. If someone attacks, you might need more than firepower to fight back."
"Maybe next time…" Miho thought on it. She's more concerned on how any of the girls were going to use the rifle at all.
"Well, alright then," Montgomery said. "I suppose you're all right then other than the miscellaneous stuff."
"Okay then," Miho said, done with the list. They've got a lot of stuff to learn about Tankery. While there are lots of things that they would need for every situation possible, they can't prepare for every scenario. It'd be too expensive anyways. They may just have to improvise in the end. "I'd like to buy these, sir!"
Ōarai Carrier - South of Portsmouth Port, England.
By the time they got back onto the Ōarai carrier, the sun was about setting.
"Man, Tankery is so different…" Yukari said to herself.
"I know, isn't it?" Saori said. "I wouldn't want to find myself in a middle of an attack…"
"Perhaps we should then prepare for them…" Hana said. "But we might need some more firepower for us fight back than with what we've bought."
"I'll think of something girls!" Miho said confidently. "The rules may be different, but if we can learn them inside and out, we can get through this!"
"Yeah!" Yukari pumped up, "everything is within reason! We're not getting that much of the short end of the rope!"
The girls thought about that with a rather happy note.
"So why do you think Montgomery was helping us so much?" Saori asked.
"What do you mean?" Miho asked.
"I mean, yeah, you'd help a newbie get into a new sport and stuff, but why'd he go this far? He could be our enemy in the future!"
"Maybe he just want to get to know us?" Yukari suggested.
"It's still a bit much, spending his whole day on us?"
"I think maybe you're thinking too much on it," Hana said.
"Maybe, but I'm not exactly easy on it."
"Yeah…" Miho thought about it. Though it certainly was a lot of efforts, nothing in their actions had potential malice. If anything, they gave them more than they gained from it.
Miho's phone rumbled, which Miho looked and saw one message from Anzu. "Looks like the prez wants me…"
"She must be eager to know what we've gotten," Hana mentioned.
"We'll, I guess she should know how much we've spent," Miho said.
"Well, let's go together!" Yukari suggested.
"Alright then…"
Student Council Room - Ōarai Carrier
The student council room was as spacious as ever. Maybe because Anzu was tiny in comparison to the room that gave it the size perspective.
"So? How'd it go?" Anzu asked while chewing on her favorite snack, legs up on the desk.
"We got most of what we need that we couldn't get here," Miho replied.
"You got the receipt?" Yuzu asked.
"Ah, yes, it's…" Miho rustled through her pocket. "Here it is."
"Thanks!"
"What'd you get?" Momo asked.
"Well, we got specialized rounds for the 75s on the M3 Lee and German vehicles," Miho explained. "And also some pistols and sub machine guns."
"Why would we need that?" Momo asked, with a tone as she suspect unnecessary spendings.
"Well…" Miho said, readying for the long explanation.
After her explanation of how the scout system works now, the student councils were faced with the problem of school security.
"So you're saying we could be attacked for intel? Sounds rough," Anzu said.
"I-I thought maybe we could at least have the bare minimum with the guns…" Miho said, "Though I got them thinking for each tank commanders."
"We'll still have to teach them how to use them," Anzu brought up another problem, "Ah, but don't worry, I think I can handle that."
"Uh okay," Miho went along, "but I'm more concerned about our numbers. Eight tanks aren't going to be enough in this fight, even if it will be a flag tank match."
"We're still handling that, don't worry about it."
"I'm kinda worrying…" Miho expressed her growing concerns.
"Well, we have a while to get up to speed with this anyways, the drawings for the tournament isn't until a few days."
"Where is it anyways?" Yukari asked. "You said it was near here?"
"Oh, it's actually in Bovington Tank Museum," Anzu explained.
"There again?" Yukari was surprised, "is all the tank things happening there or something?"
"All the contenders invited by the League will meet there at a private meeting around 9:00 PM at this time zone," Momo explained. "We still got about two days before then."
Two days until the drawings for the match selections… Miho thought. They still have a lot of problems to iron out and solve if they want a chance in this tournament. Miho needed a way to get more people in her team…
"Wait," Miho said as she thought of something, "do you know if the World Tournament rules have anything against team composition?"
"Hmm?" Yuzu replied first, "Only that the teams already registered in the tournament cannot transfer, switch, or ally with another separate registered team."
"In that case… we can set up a team like the time with University right?!"
"When we get everyone from Japan into one team?!" Anzu caught on, "Genius Miho!"
"This might solve our team number issue!" Momo chimed in.
"Wow Miho! Genius!" Yukari said.
"Eh? No no, I just took something not mentioned in the rules…"
"We'll have to double check before we can make the calls anyways," Yuzu said. "But if it works, we have a much better chance in the World Tournament!"
Miho was relieved, they got one more problem solved, and it was a very important one as well. Gathering everyone together again for one big team… a nice get-together with friends wouldn't hurt…
And big sister…
"Oh!"
"What's wrong Miho?" Hana asked.
"Oh, don't worry," Miho replied. Inside however, she was wondering how Maho might react to all this. Does she know that Ōarai got the letter this year?
Maybe she'll call her later.
"Okay!" Anzu spoke up. "If Yuzu or Kawashima can't find anything against that, we'll call them up soon! I guess we could stay up a little late tonight to call them once they are awake in Japan.
Time zones.
"Alright!" Miho says, "We'll settle this in the early morning"
"Okay Miho Nishizumi!" Anzu said, "You're free to go!"
Miho's Apartment - Ōarai Carrier
Miho finished cleaning herself up for the night. She looked at the time, 1 AM. That means it is around 10 AM in Japan right now. If Kuromorimine's schedule remains unchanged, Maho should be awake right now.
"Okay!" Miho said, steeling herself. "Here goes…" She punches in the numbers on her cell phone to Maho's phone. The digits in place, she pressed call.
[Brrriiinnnnggg]
[…]
[Brrriiinnnnggg]
[…]
[Brrriiinnnnggg]
[*Click*]
[You have reached Maho Nishizumi. I'm currently unavailable right now. Please leave a message.]
Miho sighed. Well, Kuromorimine does have a busy schedule… "I'll just send her a message instead then."
Composing a short message of what has transpired since the start of school, she then went to bed, phone near her to see if her big sister would pick up. She didn't recall closing her eyes sleepily.
Miho woke up to the bright sunlight shining through her turquoise blinds. Realizing what happened, she reached out sleepily to her phone still where it laid and checked it.
No received messages.
No notifications.
"Hmm?" Miho looked at it curiously. Surely by now Maho would've at least seen it right?
Sitting upright on her bed, Miho dialed her sister's number one more time.
[Brrriiinnnnggg]
[…]
[Brrriiinnnnggg]
[…]
[Brrriiinnnnggg]
[*Click*]
[You have reached Maho Nishizumi. I'm currently unavailable right now. Please leave a message.]
…
"What the heck?"
And that is the aftermath!
Details and more stuff. We see how Ōarai is preparing themselves for the Tankery fighting style and the introduction of the German team. Things kinda just flowed when I wrote and I ended up writing a lot more about the details spoken at the store than I thought, but I think it was an interesting development considering what I've been thinking for any of Ōarai's future scouting ventures.
I think the next chapter is going to be shorter since it will focus on the tournament selections. But maybe I find a way to squeeze some details in. Who knows.
Thanks for all the support everyone who's been with me till now! If you look forward to whats next, feel free to Follow and Favorite the story!